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I can’t think of a better way to unofficially kick off fall than with the gorgeous colors, cozy details, and of course, the sweet love story behind today’s wedding! After a group dinner serendipitously turned into an impromptu first date, Pamela and Greg grew inseparable. When it came time to start planning their wedding two years later, they were committed to planning first and foremost for their marriage–they attended premarital counseling, poured their hearts into writing their own vows (be sure to read about them below!), and made sure that each detail of their wedding truly reflected their relationship. I loved reading Pamela’s answers to our interview questions just as much as I enjoyed admiring their gorgeous Texas celebration!

Thank you so much to our Blue Ribbon Vendor Feather & Twine for sharing this gorgeous day with us!

The first day I went wedding dress shopping was actually super stressful. I brought six people with me, and as much as I loved having everyone there, shopping with that many people was overwhelming, to say the least. We went to three dress shops, and by the end of the day, I couldn’t even remember what I had tried on. Needless to say, I went home empty-handed and a little disappointed. I thank my lucky stars that my sister was in town for the whole weekend and wanted to go antique shopping the next day…but neither of us had realized that our favorite antique shops were closed on Sundays. All dolled up and in the mood to shop, we decided we would stop by a local bridal salon we had not been to yet, just the two of us. This pit stop led to the dress of my dreams!

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Knowing the pros and cons of both sides, Greg and I decided to go for it and do a first look so that we could get all of the pictures we were dreaming of! My biggest fear about not doing a first look was that we wouldn’t have time to get all of the photos that we had envisioned without keeping our guests waiting too long (every host and hostess knows to keep their sweet guests in mind). Looking back, I am so thankful that we chose to do our first look! It allowed us to get all of our cherished photos without having to rush, and both our first look and our ceremony were so sweet and romantic. Greg cried tears of joy during both, which made me so happy!

Writing our own vows was something that was so special to us. In a day when so many people get married without considering that it is for life, and not just with the mindset that if it doesn’t work, they can get divorced, we wanted the beginning of our marriage and the words that we said to each other on our wedding day to be truly genuine. My favorite line of Greg’s vows was when he vowed to “be the best man he could be” for me, because I love that we help to make each other better people than who we were before we met.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. We did a very simple, ivory, four-tiered cake with a pearl trim on each tier and an “M” on the center tier. The cake was surrounded by greenery on the base and bright blooms as the topper. As an additional dessert, we put mini pies at each place setting as the place cards, alternating peach pie for Greg since he is from Georgia and pecan pie for me since I am from Texas. These pies were one of our favorite details!

The moment we walked into the Milestone, we knew it was the perfect Southern venue for us! I have always dreamed of getting married at an old plantation, and the Milestone had all of the gorgeous details of a Southern plantation, combined with modern, new amenities. Before I even walked out of the building, I remember turning to Greg and saying, “This is the perfect place!”

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Be patient and plan your marriage together while planning your wedding. After the celebration and party is over, you are committed to each other forever, and that should be the most joyous part of your wedding! Make sure to talk about your goals and expectations before your wedding so that you can make sure your ideals line up.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. After being friends for almost a year, we had plans to go out to dinner with a group of mutual friends. At the last minute, everyone canceled except for Greg and I, so we had an impromptu first date. From then on, we were inseparable! We dated for two years before getting engaged, and we got married a year and a half later.
Tell us all about the proposal! After Greg took me back to the restaurant where we had our first date for a wonderful dinner, we took a stroll down the Woodlands Waterway. We were looking at the Christmas lights as they were going up and singing and dancing to the Waterway tunes. Greg twirled me, and when I turned around, he was down on one knee!
When did y’all get married? March 15, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 95
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. One of my movies of all time is P.S. I Love You–I love the story line and the way their love almost makes time stop. The music is something that has always made me swoon, and when I thought of music for our ceremony, we could not think of anything better than music from that soundtrack. As for our first dance, we choose Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” Even though it is a newer, trendy song, we actually changed the song we had already picked for it–we were so in love with the song and how perfectly it reflected how we felt, we had to use it!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail of our wedding would have to be the garden games we set up on the back lawn. Custom corn hole boards, croquet, and bocce ball were the perfect addition to our big day. Greg and I are not particularly big dancers, so we wanted to have a fun activity set up that was more us.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? It was very important to us to have a marriage more beautiful than our wedding. We went through marriage counseling with our officiant and talked about our current and future goals for ourselves, both personally and as a couple. Learning patience and compromise, as well as learning that God would need to be the focal point of our marriage, we strengthened our love for each other.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Since our ceremony and reception were in the same place, we decided to save money on our floral budget by using our bridesmaid bouquets as half of our reception centerpieces. As soon as the bridesmaids walked out of the ceremony, our wedding coordinator seamlessly slipped five of their bouquets into empty vases before our guests ever entered the reception. We used the the sixth bouquet as my toss bouquet. This easy repurposing saved us over $500.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? The next step in our marriage is to continue merging our lives and families together while focusing on our careers and keeping God at the center of our marriage. In a few years, we would like to start our family and buy our first house together.

Photographer and Videographer: Feather & Twine Photography / Venue and Caterer: The Milestone / Florals: The Southern Table / Wedding Cake: Candy Haven Cakes / Pie Baker: Mighty Sweet Mini Pies / Linens: House of Hough / DJ: Melodies & Memories / Paper Products: Love Vs. Design / Minted / Paper Source / Bridal Salon: Brickhouse Bridal / Jewelry: Sam Moon / Hair and Makeup: Natalia Issa / Bride’s Shoes: Anne Klein / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Blouson Dress” in Taupe Pink by Adrianna Papell / Menswear: “Black” by Vera Wang at Men’s Wearhouse / Officiant: David Williams

Feather & Twine is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
3 Comments
  1. avatar Alexandra Gipson reply

    I feel so incredibly blessed to of had the opportunity to be apart of the most amazing day in one of my very, very best friends lives! I can’t wait to be there to make many more memories with both her and Greg!

  2. avatar Maxine reply

    Thank you for featuring, SW! Great couple and a great day!

  3. avatar Dana reply

    love the floral centerpieces!

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A mountain hike, a car ride, and a breakfast-turned-lunch date were all it took for Annie and Tim to know that they had found something special in each other. While this may have made starting to date an easy decision for most people, they had to consider something unusual before committing to each other–the fact that they would have to be in a really long distance relationship. However, the oceans between Texas and Australia weren’t enough to separate these two, and their months of Skype dates and saving up for plane tickets most certainly paid off. I love the way they combined Southern traditions with favorite things about Australia at their wedding, and in turn, made their celebration completely unique to their amazing love story.

Hugs to our Blue Ribbon Vendor, Feather & Twine, for sharing this lovely day with us!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. I lived and studied in Sydney, Australia for two years, but even though Tim and I had mutual friends and had been going to the same church the entire time I was there, we didn’t meet until six weeks before I left. Two of my friends invited me to go with them to the mountains, and we met up with some of their friends there, including Tim. I remember thinking he was really cute, but since I was moving home soon, I never imagined we would end up together. On the way home, my friend messed up the axle of the car, we ended up having to leave her car in the national park and ride home with the boys. The next day, Tim drove my two friends and I back to the park, so my friend could get her car towed and fixed. We spent the day together visiting little cafés and going to lookouts until the car was ready. Tim and I literally talked the entire way home, and he asked me to go to breakfast with him the next day so we could continue our conversation. After our first date, we became inseparable, and it took me all of two weeks to completely fall in love with him (which I kept to myself until after he told me he loved me three months later). A week before I moved home, Tim asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes, which was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. We dated long distance for 18 months and did five overseas visits, thousands of Skype calls and millions of text messages. Long distance is definitely challenging, but when two people want it to work, they will make it happen, even if that means spending all of their money on airfare or waking up super early to call each other.

My wedding flowers were amazing! My heart melted every time I looked at my bouquet. It was full of blush roses, anemones, berries, and sprigs of greenery. I wanted something beautiful with a little bit of an earthy feel to it. My bridesmaids’ bouquets were smaller versions of mine without the anemones, and with some brighter pink roses to ensure the bouquets didn’t blend in with their dresses.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? No, a first look wasn’t even an option for us–we both really wanted the moment I walked down the aisle to be the first time we saw each other on the day. It was so special. I’ll never forget his face when he saw me coming down the aisle, and I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything.

Tim and I share a faith in God, and we wanted our ceremony to reflect this. We started the ceremony with a prayer and a worship song. One of our friends, a pastor from Australia, spoke about the foundations needed for a strong and lasting marriage, and he read from Corinthians in the Bible. My dad, who is a pastor in Texas, led us through our vows and married us, which was really special for me. Before we closed the ceremony, my dad prayed over us and our families stood by us, symbolizing their support in our lives and marriage.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Probably holding Tim’s hand during the ceremony while we were all singing a worship song together. I can’t explain how happy I felt–I was finally going to get to marry Tim, and I knew I was making the best decision of my life. Another great moment was during the cocktail hour when the bridal party drove five minutes away to a huge hayfield to take pictures, and we had so much fun. We ran around the field and were all laughing so hard. I am so glad we had that time with our best friends. Plus, the pictures turned out amazingly!

One of the elements that we really wanted our wedding to have was Southern hospitality. We wanted all of our Australian guests to experience how genuine, friendly, and fun Southerners are! The biggest way we incorporated the Southern traditions in the wedding was with our food. Tim and I LOVE Southern food, and for us, BBQ was a must–you can’t get more Southern than a good BBQ, and we had brisket, smoked chicken, sausage, potato salad, coleslaw, and beans. You can’t get BBQ like that anywhere in Sydney! We also did a pie bar to showcase Southern desserts. Our favors were homemade blackberry and fig jams that I made with my bridesmaids and a family friend. One fun element that we included was when we taught the bridal party a line dance at our rehearsal dinner, and we all performed it at the reception. Everyone joined in, and it was so much fun to see the two cultures come together.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Our wedding had a ridiculous amount of desserts. We love food and we wanted our guest to enjoy themselves! Our wedding cake was four layers–two layers of chocolate with raspberry filling, one layer of red velvet and cream cheese filling, and a layer of white cake with lemon filling, all covered in buttercream frosting. We also had a dessert table next to our cake table, which my sister and grandmother made most of the desserts for. They baked mini carrot cake cupcakes (my favorite), cookies in the shape of Australia, and milk and white chocolate covered pretzel sticks. A family friend also baked sweetie cookies for us and we brought over a suitcase full of Tim Tams (famous Australian cookies). At our dinner, we had a pie bar instead of cake, to add some Southern tradition to the day. This was one of my favorite things about the wedding because the pies were made from scratch by a local farm close to our venue, and most of the ingredients came straight from the farm itself. My mom and I had a blast going to the farm and taking home a ridiculous number of pies to taste. We chose seven flavors: coconut cream, apple, chocolate cream, lemon meringue, chocolate pecan, buttermilk, and strawberry cream.

Tell us all about the proposal! It was April 2nd and I hadn’t seen Tim since January 8th. I knew that he was coming to Texas to propose, but I expected him to come in March. He worked really hard to make sure I had no idea when he was coming, which was driving me crazy. He even gave his younger sister his phone so she could send me pre-recorded videos, pictures, and messages while he was flying overseas, because he knew that if I didn’t hear from him for a day, I would know he was coming. One of my best friends, Jamie, was getting married at my venue, Oakwind, in May, and asked me two weeks earlier to go to the venue and do a cake tasting with her because her fiancé had a meeting. I didn’t think a thing of this because I had been helping Jamie with lots of the details for her wedding. When we got to the venue, not only did we do a cake tasting, but we also went over almost every detail of her wedding. Little did I know, Jamie and Ann (the venue coordinator) were stalling for time because Tim’s flight had been canceled because of bad weather, and he miraculously got on a flight with another airline just in time. When we were finally done with the tasting, Jamie and I got into the car to drive back home when she started playing a CD from her car. I soon realized it was Tim’s voice coming through the car speakers. Tim had prerecorded himself telling me how much he loved me and how happy he was I was in his life. At the end of the recording, he said “If you want to continue on this journey with me, come and find me.” I jumped out of the car and ran all over the venue looking for Tim–it was about 9:00 at night and was raining. I ran into the barn, which was lit up with candles, lanterns, and fairy lights, and there he was. He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife, and I said yes. Jamie and her fiancé, Joshua, came in and we all had champagne and cake together in the barn. It was absolutely perfect, and everyone was amazed they had pulled it off because so many things went wrong! The barn Tim proposed to me in is the same barn where we had our reception. It made the venue even more special for us!
When did y’all get married? February 15, 2014
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 150 for the ceremony, 100 for our private dinner
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. This was one of the most difficult things for me–I went to at least ten different bridal stores in Houston. My mom and I even drove all the way to Austin to try on what I thought were my dream dresses, but we still didn’t find the one. I couldn’t believe how picky I was, but I just had this idea of what I wanted in my head, and nothing was quite right. I was moving back to Australia in less than a month and I really wanted to find my dress before I left, so I was definitely praying! One morning, I woke up and decided to try again at a little bridal boutique just 20 minutes from where I live. When I walked into the boutique, the owner remembered me and said, “I think we have exactly what you were describing last time you were here–it just came in.” I tried on the dress, and honestly, all I felt was relief! It was perfect, and EXACTLY what I wanted.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We decided to say the traditional wedding vows, but we also wrote our own vows. I cried the entire time I wrote my vows–there is something so powerful about expressing your commitment for another person in words. I’m glad we did this because it made the ceremony especially personal for us. My favorite phrase from Tim’s vows was “Annie, I have fallen in love with you, and I make a commitment to myself to fall in love with you daily. I do not just say I do, but I choose to love you through everything.”
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We chose our songs together, which was a lot of fun. One of the best nights of my life was cuddling with Tim on the couch and looking for the perfect song for me to walk down the aisle to. We chose “Sun” by Sleeping At Last. Our families walked down the aisle to “Kingdom Come” by The Autumn Film, and up the aisle to “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors. Our first dance was to “I’ll Keep You Safe” by Sleeping At Last. We picked songs that we both loved that would help give the right “feel” to the day.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? The biggest way we did this was buying, borrowing, and doing a lot of the details ourselves. This means you have to plan more, but if you are on a tight budget, it’s definitely the way to go. My mom, grandmother, and I went to about twenty different resale and antique shops to get old tea cups and books for our afternoon tea tables. I also spray painted bird cages from my sister’s wedding for some of the tables. A friend who is a builder tracked down rustic doors and helped me build my photo booth, which looked amazing. Friends really helped us in huge ways.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? I am so happy that we chose to invest in great photography and videography. At first, I wasn’t so sure because it took up so much of our budget, but looking back, it is worth it! The day goes by so quickly and I am so happy that we have beautiful pictures and an amazing video to help us remember everything. Tim and I have watched our wedding video again and again, and we love our photos.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? I guess the biggest piece of advice I can give is don’t compare your wedding to other weddings. Use blogs, Pinterest, and social media as tools for ideas–they are so helpful, but at the same time, appreciate that your wedding is unique, and you don’t have to have a live band or a five-course dinner for it to be wonderful. If you keep the mindset that the day is going to be perfect because you’re marrying the person you love, you will set yourself up for a win. Also, focus on building a strong marriage with your future husband, and really take time to prepare for your life together. Tim and I read books together, went to pre-marriage counseling, and set up a budget before we got married, which helped us grow as a couple during the engagement and set us up for our marriage.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? So far, I am absolutely loving married life–it really is the best. Tim and I just moved to a cottage in the mountains of Sydney, Australia, and it’s absolutely perfect. There really is nothing like having your own place together. We are both working and studying and enjoying building a life together. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect person to do life with.

Photographer: Feather and Twine Photography / Videographer: LumaVista Productions / Venue and Catering: Oakwind Estates / Florist: The English Florist / Wedding Cake: Norma’s Cakes and Cookies / Pies: Froberg’s Farm / DJ: The DarKer Side DJ / Bride’s Gown: “Jasmine” by Wtoo / Bride’s Earrings: Valentino / Hair Stylist: Erica at Urban Eve / Makeup Artist: Lily Doyle / Bride’s Shoes: Antonio Melani / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Knife Pleated Maxi” in Peach by Victoria’s Secret / Groom’s Attire: SABA / Groomsmen’s Ties: Calvin Klein

Feather & Twine is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
7 Comments
  1. avatar Sera Petras reply

    Such a lovely wedding! I love all the soft colors and sweet details. The bouquet shot is amazing!

  2. avatar LEE reply

    OMG what a beautiful wedding!

  3. avatar Olivia Fischer reply

    Beautiful location and Photography !!

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Haven’t booked all of your wedding vendors yet? Our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory is a GREAT place to start, so why not take a peek? To kick your search into high gear, allow us to introduce y’all to a few of our newest finds…

It’s with great pleasure that we get to introduce Ashley Cakes to y’all, though you might not actually need the introduction: observant readers will have spotted her lovely work in V5! Ashley is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Catherine Marciniak’s approach to photography is “natural and romantic” – sounds like a winning combination to us. She is based in Boca Raton and Charlotte.

Hiring musical talent is notoriously one of the most angst-ridden wedding decisions (how can you ever really know for sure what they’ll be like at your wedding??), which is why I’m so happy to add EastCoast Entertainment to our Directory. With a full roster of bands, DJs, and musicians, they represent some of the best talent on this side of the country.

Elisabeth Carol is based in Dallas and takes the loveliest soft, natural light photos that still have a bit of an edge to them.

Faith Teasley’s sweet and fun personality are reflected in her work — just take a look at her portfolio to see what I mean! She is based in Fayetteville but travels around NC and beyond.

Feather & Twine has a goal of capturing your wedding with “artistic whimsy and light-filled romance,” and I have to say they hit the nail on the head for a description of their work! They are based in Texas.

You can search our Directory by state or category to find your new best wedding friend. Happy hunting!

Vendors, interested in applying? Just fill out this form and Kristin will be in touch!

emily Written with love by Emily
1 Comment
  1. avatar ibridalgowns reply

    These pictures are incredible! So, so beautiful.

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